Silent Pulse
by Fenris30
Summary: Tension rises as the apparent mole in the company tries to blackmail Mr. Rochefort by injuring his daughter via hiring a thug. Failing this, the pair-Sergei and Lili-realize they need to find the mole before he tries something more drastic. Sergei enlists the aid of an old acquaintance of his from Sweden, who happens to be an ex-Zaibatsu rt of the Reticent Watcher series.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** The continuation of the 'Reticent Watcher' series! This series has graphic lemon in it, you have been warned!. I'll give a violence warning on the chapters that contain violence.

* * *

Lili grabbed another small sandwich from the plate, chuckling. She waved the waiter over to get a few more of the very expensive appetizers. They were rather excellent, all told. Sergei had one, and even he was impressed; he was usually not one to really care too much about what he ate.

It had been ages, but two of her friends from Monaco had came to visit for a few nights.

Well, maybe not ages, but it had been about four months she had seen them. Two girls, around her age. They sat and laughed over stories, a bit sad they missed Lili's nineteenth birthday a couple of weeks before, but she was busy with her family anyway that day, who had come over to Berlin to visit.

Sergei had kept her _quite_ busy that night, as well.

Lili glanced over at him; he stood by the wall with his arms folded. He was on a higher alert since the past incidents, though nothing more happened. He was still trying to root out the potential mole, but he seemed to have disappeared from the Berlin headquarters; when Lili looked into it, he had ostensibly gone on a short business trip to meet with some others. Neither of them were too sure about that. Meet with _someone_ _,_ possibly.

She had to stop herself from looking too long since she did not want her friends to know; she had to keep it a secret even to them. Truth be told, she adored them, but she would not trust them with sensitive information, given how they liked gossip and also liked to drink wine on weekends. It was difficult, though.

Today, Sergei wore a gray-toned outfit; urban-camouflage trousers and a tight, dark gray t-shirt. This looked _particularly_ good on him. He did have his heavier vest on, but as menacing as he looked, most at the place seemed to realize he was a bodyguard for Lili.

They still steered clear, though. Her friends would even eye him nervously from time to time.

They had been here for about three hours now, Sergei only going outside to smoke once before. He decided to have another, pulling his long fur-collared jacket on as the weather was hovering around freezing.

After lighting it, he kept his eyes out for anything odd, though he suspected today would be quite calm. Truth be told, he was happy she got to see a couple of her friends. He had absolutely no interest in them, but they seemed nice enough, though much less mature than Lili. Lili could act her age and even younger, for sure, though she had a maturity that followed her around; she was more like a young lady in her twenties.

Still, Lili lived a rather busy life and rarely got to see the people she cared about; she held up well, which he always respected. She would complain now and again, but he would just listen. He had long given up trying to stop himself from feeling anything for her-he simply had to be ready to detach himself completely if it came to it.

He finally figured that until that time hit-even if they had to keep it completely undercover-he could allow himself to feel. And so he did...quite deeply.

So far, he did not regret this fact.

He took the last drag of his smoke, kicking it out with the front of his combat boot before heading back in. He heard them chuckling again. They spoke English; Sergei discovered one of the girls was actually an exchange student friend of hers from London, and while she was decent with French, she found English easier, so they all spoke it.

He honestly had not paid too much attention to their banter, though he would occasionally pick something up. It mostly went in one ear and out the other for him. This was one of those times where he _did_ sort of feel ten years older than Lili; it was not something he minded, but he was actually a bit amused on how generally he never even thought of her as ten years younger, but times like this it would come out.

He took his spot back by the wall, leaning against it. Lili glanced over at him a moment, keeping a neutral expression. The waiter offered him a refill on his coffee; he accepted, along with one more shot. It would only be his third, and that was nowhere near enough to slow his reflexes. He would probably pass on the fourth, though, just to be prudent.

As he listened in, he heard one of the girls mention something about her boyfriend. Before they had left, Lili had reassured both of them that Sergei would repeat nothing, so some of the things they were discussing did get a bit personal; this was of no concern to him.

When she mentioned something about her boyfriend's sexual habits, his expression did not change; though he saw Lili start to attempt to stifle laughter. She quickly turned her attention to the glass of water that was there, dabbing her mouth off with the napkin afterward and smoothing down her hair. Sergei watched her look at the others and apologize for taking too big a bite of her sandwich.

Gossip went on for awhile, Sergei simply doing rounds of the place or standing by the wall. When it was time, Lili motioned to him to call for the limo, which he did.

He helped all three into their jackets; the other two seemingly waiting for him to twist their heads off if they looked away too long, judging by their expressions. As the two left the coatroom first, Lili looked over her shoulder, the familiar look on her face inviting him to her flat after they dropped the others off.

He was sort of planning on it, anyway.

–

 **A/N:** Thought it would be cool to do an occasional chapter-or at least a part of a chapter-from Sergei's sort of PoV. I do swap between them and focus a bit more on Lili's 'side', so to speak, but this seemed like it fit. It's a very short chapter, but I don't really put a length max or minimum on there. It's whatever tells the story.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Some pretty graphic violence here and a little mood whiplash compared to some of the story, but it's not darkfic of anything. Just a head's up. (It's also a little inspired by a chapter in my first story; let's say I wanted to sort of re-purpose the base idea into something that fits the new 'official fanon', so similarities ARE intended and purposeful.)

* * *

She couldn't explain it, but Lili woke up with a bit of an uncomfortable feeling; like something was... _off_. She didn't know what, or where, but it was an odd feeling. Nothing seemed wrong at a glance; she checked her flat, and nothing was amiss. She had called on a few servants, requesting her breakfast and other things, and nothing seemed weird with them, either.

Sergei had always done a full check of her place at night, and there had been nothing wrong. He had stayed most of the night; they had, of course, enjoyed some pleasurable time together. He slept for a bit there, and then went back to his own flat; she had an early day again today, only this time she would be meeting with two people at an office building to go over some finances.

This was one of the more painfully boring things of her internship. The restaurant meetings were one thing-she could at least sort of half-zone out, enjoy good food since it was usually somewhere nice, and get waited on like someone of her status should be. At the headquarters she was subjected to weak coffee, boring suits and stuffy board rooms.

Sergei was always there, standing guard at the door, as usual.

She chalked up her odd feeling to a bad dream, perhaps, or just nerves from some of the things that had happened recently before going about getting ready. She had to leave in about forty-five minutes; Lili was one to sometimes put mornings off until the last possible moment. She went about figuring out something to wear-deciding on jeans, short boots and a blouse. Usually one did not wear jeans to a business casual meeting, but given that it was sort of _her_ family's company this morning she felt like doing what she wanted.

 _I'm sure they'll live without me a few moments. What are they going to do, fire me?_

She looked outside at the sun peeking over the cold city, sort of wishing she had this morning off. It would be so perfect to just sit there, breathe in some cold air, drink coffee, play on her laptop, and maybe spend a bit of time with Sergei later on.

She heard the knock; it was probably one of her butlers her maids with her coffee. She stretched and went to the door to finally bring herself to life for the day.

–

The meeting was everything she could have guessed; boring. One of the more boring ones that she could remember. Thankfully, it was short.

Even Sergei looked bored, and he was known to be able to take immense amounts of it. He stifled a yawn at one point. He had no problems dealing, but he much preferred the restaurant meetings himself. He stood at the door in his dark gray, almost SWAT-esque outfit which he wore in colder weather, his arms folded and sipping at some of the weak office coffee that was in a paper cup. At one brief moment, he locked eyes with Lili; she could have sworn she caught a glimpse of humor in his eyes. She stifled a chuckle at this.

It finally ended, Lili grabbing her coat and quickly going to leave with Sergei following her. When they reached the front steps, she realized she had forgotten something in her rush to escape.

"Damn!" she said, searching around. "I forgot one of the folders. I don't want to leave it here in case my father needs me to send him something from it."

Sergei nodded, and followed her back in.

At that moment, there was a sound that Lili did not recognize, though Sergei did. He covered her with his huge body, pushing her to the ground as the person that was following them in-a random man they did not know-fell to the ground, a massive stain of blood on the front and back of his business suit.

The few people that were milling around the office screamed or simply started running around in confusion; Sergei grabbed Lili-gently but firmly-and lifted her, carrying her toward one of the windowless side rooms. He kicked the electrically-locked door open as if it were a screen door on someone's porch.

Before he had tackled her, she glimpsed a man running; he looked familiar. He was not the man they had a bad feeling about...but he had been at the building before; though he didn't appear to be pretending to work there or anything.

Lili was breathing heavily; looking confused, a bit scared, and nervous.

"Sergei...?"

He checked outside; having kicked the door open it was now broken. He looked deadly serious. "Stay here."

She nodded, as a few other people began to funnel into the room, also confused and scared. Lili picked herself up, realizing that she had been attacked before, and began to slowly calm herself down. _It's okay. You're inside. He's running off. Besides, you've fought armed men before, side by side with Sergei._

She then stood, dusting herself off and putting on a brave face. She looked at the other people in the room-technically people who worked for her father, when it came down to it, and cleared her throat.

"My bodyguard is highly trained. Military. He'll make sure we're okay."

They looked at her, nodding. They realized who it was, calmly going to sit down in the corner. Other guards were milling about; many of them on phones and the like. Sergei was nowhere to be seen at this moment; she noticed he had went to go examine the body for some reason first.

Lili exhaled, trying to stay visibly calm for them. She actually, after the initial shock felt...okay, especially given that someone had apparently tried to kill her, and almost succeeded. She was not so daft that she didn't see that; the fact she had forgotten the papers allowed her to come inside to safety.

She looked out the door, seeing Sergei walk by, the look on his face...something that she had never seen before. Besides cold rage, there was something else.

 _Guilt? Why..._

She stepped out of the door, fastening her coat. She gave him a look that said wherever he was going-and he seemed like he was heading out quickly-she would be going with him. She looked at the security guards.

"Take care of these people," she said. She knew the private security force would do so; something this delicate would not be involving the police. They would probably ensure that they did not get involved. She thought of one other thing that sounded like madness...but she wanted to do this.

She went over to one of the guards whom she recognized as one of the higher-ranked ones. He bowed politely, knowing who she was. She had been many times at this building and he had been introduced some time back.

"Say nothing of this to my father."

The guard blinked. "Ms. Rochefort?"

She shook her head. "He does not need to know about this. Leave it quiet. Make sure this man's family-if he has any-is properly cared for. As much as possible. But do not bring my father into this. Please."

He nodded. "I...we won't." The men did not personally know the Rocheforts-some of the highest ranked ones did-but he would listen to the young heiress' wishes; if there was a reason she wanted to keep it quiet, it was probably a good one.

She gave Sergei a look that she would be coming with him. He looked at her...but nodded. He knew that now that they knew who he was-Sergei had seen and recognized him as well-that they could find him.

Lili had _no_ idea what Sergei had planned for this one.

Everything was a blur. Not much time had passed at all; maybe ten minutes. She wondered if the man had a getaway car. Sergei checked a few things, but realized that he could not have; he was not with the company, nor was he pretending to be. He wouldn't have been able to park, thus he had to have been on foot.

Sergei was glancing around, checking for the familiar man. In roughly ten minutes, he couldn't have gotten _too_ far, though he could have ducked into somewhere innocuous. He stopped, occasionally asking someone who had been around if they had noticed the man of that description.

In a way, they were lucky. It was early, so most people were already in the offices or on their way to work via cars due to the weather. The sidewalks were slightly icy, so unless he was wearing studs on his shoes, he would not be able to move quickly. Judging by the way he blindly sort of went up to shoot and accidentally hit the wrong person because Lili had turned around to go in just as another man came out, he wasn't particularly skilled; whoever hired him had probably found a more thuggish type.

Lili was trying not to think about how close she came. It was not the time.

After going around the perimeter, they found their answer after but a few moments...from a street vendor. Sergei had thought to ask him early; in his experience, the locals and the everyday people sometimes noticed more than people gave them credit for. He has had to deal with many in various insurgencies and the like.

Yes, he had seen a man like that-and he had gone to a rather scummy bar on the corner to try to hide. He noticed because the man was relatively well dressed, and it seemed odd he would be going to such an establishment.

 _Why would they hire such an amateur_ _,_ Lili thought. She would have been insulted if she hadn't have been almost killed.

They eventually saw the establishment when they went to the seedier area; it was a bit run down and apparently closed...but the door was cracked open. Sergei looked down at Lili.

"It seems that bar is something more."

"I think it's probably just a bar," she said, "that people use for other things. I've been traveling and have run into these." She had run into several places in her life-usually after wrong turns-that were apparently restaurants, bars, or whatnot, but might as well have had 'money laundering done here' written on a sign somewhere out front.

Sergei nodded. "Wait around out here. I'll make sure that it's clear."

She had no idea how this happened so quickly, but she supposed it was a good thing. Had Sergei had not thought to check with the street vendor, he may have gotten away. He may still have gotten away, when she thought more about it.

Judging by the loud _crash_ she heard inside, this was not the case. A man-not the one from this morning, though one who looked familiar to her as well-ran by.

Almost instinctively, she stuck her leg out in a waist-high kick; catching him in the stomach, he was stopped short where he flew back from the force, hitting his head on the wall hard enough to apparently knock him unconscious. She walked by, pausing to give him one more kick in the ribs just to make sure he was out. Or maybe just because she felt like it.

Lili snorted. _I'm getting good at this._

She heard a scream inside; apparently he had not gotten away fast enough.

 _He came close though. Too close._

She opened the door to find Sergei in the completely empty bar-it was still closed-savagely beating the man; he had run his head into the wall several times, leaving smears of blood behind that increased in size with each hit. His fist dripped blood as well, telling her that he had likely punched the man several times first. Or in between. She had no idea.

When he span around to throw him against the bar, where he collapsed onto his hands and knees-well, one hand in any case as the other arm was visibly broken-the look in his eyes was like nothing she had seen.

She was startled by this. He was not killing this man out of necessity, like the rest.

He was _enjoying_ this. Far more than his usual enjoyment of wading through enemies. He liked fighting, yes-he loved it, in fact. But this was _different._

When the man tried to stand, he smashed the side of his face into the bar's footrest with his boot; blood and teeth flew everywhere. He was gurgling breaths at this point; she realized he was not dead yet despite half of his face literally being shattered. He smashed down again, still missing a fatal blow, causing more of...everything to fly. For a third hit he grabbed the man by the hair; Lili getting a look at his face and wishing she hadn't. He slammed it into the bar before dropping him back down to the floor. Blood was everywhere; on the wall where he originally rammed his head into, all over the floor, the side of the bar, and Sergei.

" _Sergei"_ , she said, her voice almost urgent.

He turned toward her. The man squirmed feebly on the ground.

"...You can finish it. I'm okay. I'm okay..." _What got over him?_

Sergei shook his head, seemingly snapping out of his rage. He finally smashed down with one more stomp, crunching the back of his head in another massive spray of blood and gods knew what else. Given it was a few inches off the ground, she heard the dripping sound as the blood-and whatever else-hit the floor.

This one, she could not look at for long. She had seen Sergei brutally mangle plenty of men-snapping their necks and smashing their heads in-but this one was terrible. It was like he had been purposely _at_ the man, with the intent on tormenting him first before killing him. Blood, brain, and even apparently bone were visible. Lili felt a bit queasy, though she wasn't sure if it was because of the remains, because of the look in Sergei's eyes, or because of the entire morning.

She breathed out, turning around. She felt a tear begin to well up from stress, but she choked it down. _Not now. You're stronger than this._

She turned back, composed. "Let's go back." She held her hand out.

Sergei walked slowly over to her, taking it. His hand was sticky with blood, it was spattered across his face, all over his legs and arms, but she didn't care.

When they got outside, the man was gone, but neither seemed to even care.

 _He's probably on his way out of the country right now if he saw what went on in here._

–

Back in Lili's flat, Sergei sat with a double shot of vodka, an ashtray at his side-filled with more crushed out smokes than usual-as he smoked another. He had showered and cleaned the blood off of his clothing the best he could.

He looked over at her as she walked over to the edge of the couch to stroke his damp hair. She hadn't really figured out what to say to him yet; she had been silent the entire time. Finally, she decided to speak up.

"I...he's dead, Sergei. He's gone. Like the rest."

He looked over at her. "Not soon enough." He glowered. "And only once."

She shivered. She didn't understand what happened to him...until she thought about it.

"Are you...because he almost..."

He nodded once. "I have never failed in duty before."

"But you haven't as far as I'm concerned. He's dead." _More dead than I've ever seen you make someone._

He was more angry with himself than anything. If the man was in front of him again, he would kill him again, gladly. He should have known. He looked up at her again.

"I should have went over the perimeter more."

"You couldn't have seen inside of his coat."

Sergei thought for a moment, and nodded. He supposed she was right about that. In his blindness of the moment, he had not thought of that. "I suppose...you are right."

It was odd. He also realized that it was not even a failure of his duty that he thought of first that moment.

It was that she could have died.

Lili smirked lightly, to show that she was holding up. "It's over. But..."

Sergei nodded, composing himself. "There are more." He seemed to almost do a 180, she thought. He snapped back to his usual professional self. He thought for a moment. "I have pictures of the man. Ever since you mentioned him to me..."

Lili nodded. "I should have known."

"I have a contact. Let me see what I can do." He stood to go back to his room. He turned for a moment to place his hands on her shoulders. She immediately embraced him to kiss him deeply. She felt like she wanted to after everything...almost that she needed to.

After it broke, Lili nodded. "Again-he's dead. I'm fine. You failed nothing. You couldn't have known."

Sergei smiled ever so slightly. He said nothing as he turned to leave.

Lili watched him silently as well.

Silence was something that she almost welcomed sometimes these days.

–

She heard the soft knock, as Sergei let himself in; he knew she didn't mind this. She turned around-a little jumpy at the door opening. Sergei saw her, and suddenly looked slightly apologetic, or as close as he got to that.

That made Lili smile. _He has it in him. Then again I always knew he did. Just not like other people_ _._ Somehow it always made her stomach twist-in a good way-when she thought about this, since it was hard for her to get over that it was only for her.

He walked over to the couch, dressed in his more casual cargos and tank top. He fiddled a cigarette out of a box and lit it.

"I think my contact can help. But after speaking to him-it may be wise to perhaps leave here for a week or so. Maybe a week and a half."

Lili blinked...but thought it didn't sound that bad. "I can probably arrange a 'business meeting', if you know what I mean...it would take me about a week, though."

He nodded. "That's fine. The man I know is in Stockholm. He can get us a place to stay."

"Out of the way, I'm guessing? And Sweden? You know people in Sweden?"

"Yes. He is an acquaintance that I've known since before you and I have met, though it wasn't too long before that."

She didn't ask questions. "I can set up a business trip and get a private flight out. In a week."

"He also may be able to help us in other ways."

Lili came over to sit next to him on the couch finally, tucking up under his arm. She didn't say anything else; she just wanted to be with him. He began to run his hand through her hair, finally allowing himself to relax.

He had allowed her to convince him that he did not fail. But he would use this day to never get that close to failing again. He would find the supposed mole and end this.

He made a promise, after all.

And he _never_ failed his duty.

* * *

A/N: This one was indeed sort of inspired by that one chapter in Winter's Embrace where Sergei went a bit mad(for those who read that story, if not then no worries). It had a different angle, though, where Lili provided the comfort instead, and there were no injuries on our either of our protagonists' sides. If it seemed a little similar to that WE scene where Sergei went ballistic, it was meant to be; I sort of picture Sergei in true 'White Angel of Death' mode as being utterly terrifying. I wanted to write up a scene where he went full-bore mad death mode on someone in the main fanon series, and I imagine it would have been similar.

I think this was a moment where Lili wasn't sure how strong she could be until she had to be.


	3. Chapter 3

It had been about a week since the incident, and they had left as planned for Stockholm. The Rocheforts' private plane was wonderful; it had a bedroom with a door, a nice, albeit small, bathroom, comfy chairs, and the whole nine. No servants went with them, and the pilots were told to keep the trip an utmost secret.

Sergei nudged a sleeping Lili lightly. He had heard that they would be landing, and he figured it would be a good idea to get separated and back to 'bodyguard and charge.' There weren't too many on the plane, so they figured it would be okay to spend time together in the back, though it still was a little risky.

The snow wasn't so bad on the ground, but it had been short and heavy; enough to delay flights. It was only for an hour, though. He had let his contact know he would be late; unlike commercial flights, they did not ban phone use. They went by Lili's rules, since she was the technical 'owner' of the jet. Well, her family was, in any case.

They would be in Stockholm for about ten days. It was disguised as a business trip. Lili's father knew where they were going, but he did not know about the attempt on her life. Lili did not wish to give up the internship or run from her enemies; it was not her style. She would face them head-on...with Sergei's help.

It was one of the things he liked so much about her.

Lili stirred when Sergei gently nudged her again, allowing his fingers to lightly run through her hair a few times. She opened her eyes, smirking at him as she looked up.

"Are we there?" she asked, sitting up. She was a bit groggy.

He nodded.

She slid out of the bed, pleased the flight was fairly smooth on approach. She noted the screen in the corner and saw they should be touching down in about ten minutes. Upon arrival, they would have a per-arranged limo waiting to take them to some place that had been set up.

It was Sergei's idea. His contact had a place secured for them downtown. It was quite large and nice, just not as lavish. Lili was okay with this given the circumstances...for a short amount of time, anyway.

She gathered her things so she could go to the seat to prepare for the landing. "Who is your contact?" she asked.

"An ex-Zaibatsu member."

She twitched. "He is _ex_ , right?"

Sergei nodded, smiling lightly.

Lili smiled back. If there was one person in the world she could trust with anything, it was Sergei.

Before she opened the door, she motioned his head down to plant a light kiss on his mouth.

 _I'm getting a bit daring with him more often now. Especially with others so close by._

–

The limo ride had been fairly short and uneventful. They reached the area, which was a little out of the way, though not completely in the sticks. It looked like pretty normal from the outside, which was probably a good thing at this moment.

Sergei let the two of them into the flat. Lili found it interesting, as it was two stories; but both above and underground instead. It was actually quite large; it was a little on the spartan side, but it was very nice, as the things it did have were rather pricey and attractive. Lili wasn't sure what sort of thing this was used for, but she figured she could live here for a week and a half as everyone tried to figure out how to catch the mole.

He then piled their bags into the corner; he figured Lili would unpack whenever she wanted to. The place also came fully stocked with anything to eat or drink; the first thing he did was go hook up the coffee maker. He wanted his coffee, vodka, and a cigarette after all of this. He threw his pack of smokes on the table, knowing that his contact would likely like some of both, as well.

Lili examined the place more closely. It honestly wasn't bad, truth be told. She noticed the thermostat and took it up another notch; she wasn't quite as into the cold as Sergei, and the place hadn't had the head on for awhile. Sergei had clearly asked for a flat that was a bit on the nicer side, for Lili's sake. She much appreciated that.

She actually found it rather telling about his feelings as well, but she didn't say anything.

This floor-which was street level-had the large kitchen, a sort of living room, a big bathroom, and a study. The basement level-which was just as nicely taken care of as the first floor-had a smaller kitchen, the bedroom, another bathroom, and a small library. She actually considered asking about buying it so she could have a place to stay if she ever wanted to visit her again under better circumstances; she liked to travel, after all, and she could afford it.

The smell of coffee came from the upstairs kitchen rather quickly, and it relieved her. She could use some, herself. She didn't much feel like sleeping at the moment, and she would have to meet this contact anyway.

 _I hope we find out what we need to here. I'm not sure how it will all fall together...but I suppose I'll find out soon enough._

She went down to the bedroom and began to unpack, wanting to keep herself busy. She felt a little nervous, for some reason; she knew she had nothing to fear with Sergei there, but perhaps it had been the big mix of everything that was wearing on her. She had held up well, all told.

As she was placing a few of her nicer things in the large closet, she heard a faint knock coming from upstairs, followed by Sergei's heavy footsteps above and an opening door.

 _He's here, I suppose_ _._ She went up the stairs to see who it was. On her way up, she heard a voice greet Sergei; it was not as deep as his. It sounded like a young man.

When she arrived, she saw a somewhat familiar face; she did not know him personally, but she could have sworn she saw him around the tournament.

He was wearing a sort of leather military-style jacket, along with some loose jeans and combat boots; he had been involved with the military Sergei had told her, but he did not carry himself as such like Sergei did. He seemed far more relaxed and casual. Under the coat he wore a tight, sleeveless shirt. His reddish-brown hair went almost every which way, though he seemed to take care of it; it was unkempt, but not sloppy. He had a scar over his left eye, and while he was a few inches shorter than Sergei, his build told her that he was no stranger to combat. He wasn't as bulky, but he was clearly strong.

Sergei turned, nodding. "Lili," he said.

The man turned toward her. "I'm Lars. Sergei told me a few things."

She blinked. "Wait...aren't you...one of..."

He snorted. "Yes, and no need to worry about _that_."

Sergei smirked, nodding silently toward the kitchen.

Lars removed his jacket, tossed it onto the chair near the door, and followed. Lili followed the two men, having no idea what was going on. The three of them eventually settled around the kitchen table with coffee, Sergei placing an ashtray in the middle. Lili added a bit of vodka to her own coffee for once; she usually preferred Irish creme, but this was one of those times she wanted a bit more.

Lars lit his cigarette, adding some vodka to his own before passing the bottle and blowing out a stream of smoke. "I suppose I should explain a few things," he said, looking at Lili. "Since I know he's bad at it."

Sergei snorted, lighting his own smoke.

Lili sipped her coffee. "I'm wondering why a Mishima would want to help me...?"

Lars rolled his eyes, though not unkindly. "I'm no longer with the Zaibatsu. They want me dead. They're my enemy as much as they are yours or Sergei's."

Sergei nodded. "We met fighting an ambush of Tekken Force soldiers." Sergei had been impressed when he saw Lars break one's neck with a single yank of his hand; it was so violent that the man's head touched his back. He figured he was a few moments from practically tearing his head off.

Lili knew again that she could trust Sergei, and anyone whose fighting prowess he respected she guessed was probably at least _pretty_ good.

Lars took a sip of the spiked coffee and another puff of the cigarette. "We kept in touch occasionally after that; he often fought the soldiers around his homeland, and I tend to take out the ones who try to kill me. I had enough ins to feed him some recon."

Sergei just nodded. He was almost glad Lars was here to talk for him. Words were, of course, not his strong suit.

Lili nodded. "Sergei...so you contacted him?"

He nodded again. "I thought he could help."

Lars looked at her. "I know what a few of the operatives looked like around the Zaibatsu. While I cannot guarantee it, I can look into a few things and see if there is someone who is snooping around Rochefort Enterprises."

"And then..." Lili continued.

"I'll take care of him," Sergei said. He did not say more, but he knew she remembered that night.

Lili nodded and sighed.

Everyone was silent for awhile, Lars fiddling with his phone-which was a decidedly older model-as he smoked. Lili had to grin; she was the type who naturally had the latest-and most expensive-gadgets when she wanted them.

"You know, for your help, I could probably get that upgraded for you." She chuckled.

Lars chuckled back. "No one can hack this thing, though."

 _That's...actually pretty brilliant. Maybe Sergei is onto something with him_ _._ Sergei, in fact, smirked a tiny bit at that. It was the first time she saw him with a facial expression-that wasn't cold, murderous rage-around someone other than her.

They sat quietly around the table for a spell. Lars was still checking a few things on his phone.

Lili finally spoke up. "How can you find him?"

Lars put down his phone and went to light another cigarette. "I still have a few connections. Small-time people who were let down like myself but who couldn't break out. Not every single person that works for the company is with them. It's huge. You know how far they reach."

She nodded. "And since they're very interested in my father's company..."

"I can maybe see if anyone knew anything about someone who may have 'defected' to Rochefort Enterprises. Then we can see if it's the same person, who it is, and how to find them."

Sergei smirked slightly at that, though Lili would have called it a slightly disturbing one. _I have a feeling he's going to like killing this one..._

The fact he had attempted to kill her-or at least she could have guessed it was him-made her particularly unsympathetic to what would be his rather short future if Sergei did get his hands on him, however.

The three sat around the table for awhile more, getting one more cup of coffee each; Lili skipped the vodka this time, but the other two opted in. Lighting one last cigarette for himself and then Sergei, Lars looked over at her.

"I'm here to help. I may talk more than him, but they won't get anything out of me." He cracked his knuckles.

Lili smiled. "Thanks." She looked around. "Did you find this?"

He nodded. "He asked me. Big, out of the way. As nice as you could find without being too obvious. It was a bit of a pain in the ass, especially at short notice."

She laughed. She actually started to feel a bit better, after the fairly sudden Berlin departure. "It's fine for awhile."

He snorted, though smiled. Lili's mind began to work in amusing ways; she never pictured Sergei with a 'military buddy' before, but she wondered if this man was the closest thing he had. She knew even if it _was_ true Sergei would never admit it, but she liked the thought.

Sergei stretched, looking over at the clock. Lars did so as well, noticing it wasn't _that_ late, but then blinking after a few moments. "I should leave. I don't want to stay here longer than I need. He can contact me, and I will get ahold of you both when and if I find out anything."

Lili-rather sharp these days after spending enough time to Sergei-noticed the quick look he gave the two of them, though said nothing. _I really hope this one can keep a secret, Sergei._ She nodded, though. "Thank you. For everything."

He stood, nodding at the two of them. "I owe them too." He cracked the knuckles of one of his hands again. Lili's hair stood on end this time, though just for a moment. She blinked, having _no_ idea what caused that. Unlike Sergei, who visibly looked like he was perfectly ready and willing to crush someone's neck for insubordination, let alone even being an enemy, Lars looked rather kind. The fact that he was willing enough to go out of his way for an acquaintance and someone he did not even know, particularly for something this dangerous, told her that he was.

Though she had a distinct feeling that _whatever_ he had done to the soldiers that Sergei had seen him fight had been nasty enough to impress even him, so she suspected that he had another side to him.

He finished his coffee and cigarette, going to grab his jacket. "I'll be in touch." He nodded to Lili. "Nice meeting you." He looked at Sergei. "Save at least one for me."

Sergei smirked, nodding. He saluted him. Lili had no clue what _this_ was about, but she decided to let it go for now and spring it on him when he least expected it.

 _I don't think I'll ever know every side of him. I think I sort of like it that way._

–

Lili lay in the bed, her hands behind her head. She was still a bit on edge with everything. She knew that this was the best plan of action, as they would not have been able to really plan how to deal with the mole in Berlin since she would have had to work the whole time. She would have put herself in more danger after the attempt on her life, but it still sort of felt like they were running. She knew it was very temporary, but sort of bit at her.

Sergei came over to lay beside her, propping his head on one hand as his free hand ran down her body. She sighed, though this time it was a more pleasant one.

"Not a bad place," she said, running her hand absently down his chest.

He smirked.

She chuckled. "It works for a few days anyway."

After a few moments of silence, she leaned forward to kiss him, allowing the travel and the whole night to slip off of her. She hadn't gotten to kiss him deeply for awhile, and she quite missed when she did not have that chance. A week had passed since the terrible day, and while she recovered very nicely from it, a lot of that residual stress remained. She never broke, but it made her a little tired to hold up that much for that long.

Physical contact with Sergei tended to help. Right now she wanted to feel pleasure again.

Sergei leaned into her kiss, returning it; he found himself getting more intense rather quickly. His tongue slid into her mouth, teasing her as he drew back to nip and then bite lightly at her lower lip, a small moan escaping his throat. Lili's breathing intensified as she felt his hand begin to slide up under her shirt and down her back. He gently moved her so she was more on her back, propped up on all of the pillows as he positioned over her to continue, releasing her lip for a moment as he kissed her. He could again sense her slight discomfort at the overall situation...and would do what he could to help her.

He supported himself directly over her, his hands on either side of her head. He leaned in again, kissing her, allowing his tongue to run around her lips as she moved forward to deepen it; she nipped at his lip in return. He sort of realized he liked that. He slid one leg on either side of her waist, bringing one hand over to run over a breast; cupping it first, and then tracing his fingers around it while smirking down at her again. She squirmed under him a bit, the arousal already well underway. It didn't take him very long to turn her on.

Nor the other way around, as she could tell due to his position. He leaned in, dipping his head low to trace his lips down her neck, nipping lightly on the way down. He was careful to not cause obvious marks, though he would at least try to draw a few moans out of her. The two had fallen into certain preferences when it came to their intimate time; they tended to get into it rather quickly.

Lili motioned for him to remove his shirt, so he did; he met her in a kiss again before sitting back to pull at her jeans, he didn't care her that own shirt stayed on. Lili chuckled a little evilly; it was apparent that he had a few priorities right now, and it had nothing to do with a mission.

She gasped when he pushed her shirt up and started to lightly kiss her stomach, the familiar feeling of his cool lips against her skin making her shiver. She stroked his hair, some of it falling free from the tail he tied it in. His breath caused another shiver to run up and down her spine; she rubbed the back of his neck, taking his hair down. He continued to kiss her stomach slowly; his tongue lightly flicking against her skin, going lower.

She lifted his head for a second as she moved to the edge of the bed. She quite liked that position. She looked down a moment to stroke his head as she felt his tongue slide between her legs; she moaned out, noticing he did not even much tease her tonight. He seemed like he just wanted to pleasure her.

She grabbed his hair, running her hands through it as she thrust her hips toward him; his head matching her rhythm. He licked her up and down, his own breathing getting heavier along with hers. The room was silent except for their breathing, low moans, and the quiet yet incredibly arousing sound of Sergei's actions.

Lili bit her lip, moving her legs more over his shoulders as he positioned his hands on her rear so he could push closer; he brought his tongue up to stroke her clit for some moments before going back to slide around some more. They had not gotten to be together for some time, so this felt beyond wonderful. It always did-at this point Sergei knew her body and what she liked very, _very_ well; but when it had been awhile-especially after everything-it felt both like a physical _and_ an emotional release. She could tell by his actions-which were more intense than usual-that he felt the same.

He had indeed missed sexual contact with her. Her scent, taste, and touch were almost overtaking him; he pulled back for a few moments to trace his tongue slowly around her folds, just to tease her a bit. He kissed her thigh for some time before moving back; he could tell by her faster breathing and louder gasps that she was close. He pushed toward her, licking her faster and faster until he felt her grip his head and arch her back; the waves of pleasure hitting her with a slightly louder moan.

It didn't take too long, but she still felt fully satisfied; she looked down as she watched him continue to lick her for some moments as he massaged her rear. He kissed her several times both between the legs and on her thighs before leaning against her some moments. Lili had leaned back to catch her breath. It always felt incredible. She squirmed and moaned out again as she felt his tongue slide out as he rest his head on her, continuing to stroke her between her legs slowly, moaning very, very quietly for a moment.

Unless they were in a hurry, Sergei would usually not leave until he had gotten her off at least twice.

He leaned in some more, sliding his hands up more to lightly massage her a bit as he began to lick her more intensely again, enjoying when she moaned out loudly as he began to suck at her highly sensitive clit. A few moments of that, along with rolling his tongue over it and pressing his mouth close to her to quickly match her rhythms made her come again, even stronger than before. Her hands ran through his hair as she arched her back; he stroked her stomach with a free hand, feeling the firm muscle contract in orgasm.

Lili was panting; she had come _quite_ strongly this time. She leaned up on her elbows to look down at him, a small smile on her face as she caught her breath; she reached down with one hand to push back some of his hair. He looked up at her, his eyebrow going up for a moment as he nuzzled at her thigh, licking his lips. She could feel a little of the wetness from his face.

They remained like that a few moments; Lili recovering and Sergei allowing himself an intimate moment to relax, kissing her thigh lightly as he stroked her side. She liked how he was rarely in a hurry afterward.

He finally stood up, sliding his hand down to release himself from his trousers. He looked down at her, a questioning look in his eyes.

She knew he was asking if she wanted to go further. She sat up to pull him down in answer, giving him a moment to prepare himself so he could release without pulling out; he positioned over her and slid inside. It wasn't going to take long, he felt. She wrapped her legs tightly around his waist to give him a squeeze; he moaned low, loving this as usual as he began to thrust after a few moments.

She matched his thrusts, wrapping her arms around his neck as she nipped at his shoulder. Sergei closed his eyes and enjoyed it; he could feel himself getting closer and closer to letting go. As always it was incredibly arousing for him to go down on her, and he could still taste her on his lips slightly. Between that, her squeezing his waist with her legs and the feeling of her around, him, he moaned a tiny bit louder and thrust faster; with his usual low and rather attractive near-growl he came, continuing to thrust as she clamped around him, digging in her nails just a bit.

He finally stopped, supporting himself over her as he pulled out, laying there for a moment as he rest his head next to hers. He finally rolled off, sitting on the side of the bed as Lili moved to sit next to him. She smiled, grateful for this night. It had been days and she had sort of gotten used to having it a little more often; plus given everything that had happened...it wasn't that she wanted sex when she was stressed, it was just the intimate act of being so close to him that gave her comfort as well as pleasure.

She smiled over at him, resting her forehead on his arm for a moment as she ran her hand over his shoulder.

He looked down at her for a few moments before looking over to the bathroom.

She knew exactly what he was asking.

 _I quite like this part, too._

–

So yeah, I brought in another cameo, though carefully. I admit this chapter is my excuse to sort of exercise my 'BROTP' for Sergei. I do, somehow, given their military ties and ties to the Zaibatsu, see them able to get along somewhat. Also, Sergei and Lili needed some lemon so they got it.


	4. Chapter 4

Three rather calm days had passed before Lars got back to them. He did so at roughly five-thirty in the morning.

Sergei got up easily, but had to nudge Lili a few times before she rolled out of bed, slightly grouchy and out of sorts. She fumbled some casual clothes on; just some jeans, a shirt, socks and a pair of slippers; naturally the two slept naked together. Being alone, they took full advantage of the physical aspect. Since they've been there, they hadn't gone a night without sexual contact. Lili reckoned she was long spoiled and wondered how she'd handle things getting back to Monaco.

 _Human beings were not meant to wake up before sunrise_ _,_ she thought, fumbling off to the kitchen to press the button on the coffeemaker. She prepared it the night before, much like she would have her maids do back at home. She sort of missed having people to wait on her, and couldn't wait to get back. It would be less than a week now. She wanted comfort, she wanted familiarity...she almost wanted to be back in Monaco, but only if Sergei could still work for the family.

She knew she wouldn't be able to have him stay there permanently due to his status, but she had an idea to get him to at least be able to work for them more often. It seemed-from what she could tell-so long as he went away several days a month back to his main base in Moscow, and so long as he was available to deal with emergencies in his homeland first-of which thankfully there have not been many-his superiors seemed to be quite happy with whatever arrangement Mr. Rochefort set up. Probably involving large amounts of money and oil.

She was _quite_ thankful in this case that her father was overprotective.

Getting three cups out, she rubbed her eyes. _This better be good_ _,_ she thought, sitting at the kitchen table with her bathrobe wrapped around her. Sweden in the winter got cold, despite the fact she had the heat turned up. It was one of the drawbacks to the underground level, she guessed. She supposed when she woke up a bit she'd feel better.

Sergei simply wandered around in a pair of trousers; Lili swore that he must have been born in a snow drift or something. He opened the door to let Lars in; he resembled a riot control officer due to his style of dressed. He looked ready for battle, in any case. Lili wondered if she should prepare.

He took his coat off, shaking some of the snow out of his hair.

 _Great, more snow_ _._ She snorted, though smiled and waved. She poured a giant cup of coffee and began to drink it rather quickly; she had a feeling she would want to be a bit more awake for this.

Lars looked at the two of them before sitting down and lighting a smoke. "I found out a bit of information. I don't know who the mole is yet but I did find out about the apparent assassin. He is tied to him."

Lili snorted. "I had a feeling." She thought back. "How did..."

Lars looked at Sergei. "You _really_ mangled this one. They knew who he was, though. They could tell by what he was wearing, his gun, and everything else."

Sergei sipped his coffee and lit a cigarette silently. He looked as if it would gladly do it again if he were there.

"Anyway," Lars continued, "They didn't want you gone."

Lili blinked. "Why hire a man to kill me then?"

"He was supposed to wound you as a warning to your father to give up or worse would happen."

 _Are they just daft?_ "So...they wanted to warn me by shooting me."

Sergei looked at her. "A bullet can cause permanent damage. He was careless besides...his aim would have killed you."

Lili gulped. "You'd think they'd hire someone more competent."

Lars crushed out his cigarette. "Trust me, I've worked for them. Some of the thugs of the company can be quite careless and cheap on who they hire. Not all of the Zaibatsu is evil-in fact, far from it-the everyday people are just people who work there. Some are rather brilliant plotters and planners. Others yet are common thugs looking to get ahead. There are a lot of them."

"I guess they're easy for higher-ups to use."

Lars nodded, smirking. "The Zaibatsu tries to do things the easiest way possible, trust me."

Lili laughed. "My father mentioned something about that. He said he's pretty sure people around our company try to pull that."

Sergei had his arms folded, smirking down at the table. Lili looked over. "At least they know how to pick bodyguards."

Lars took a drag of his smoke, chuckling. "In any case, they found a thug in the company willing to try to send a message and he apparently failed. Badly. On the bright side, perhaps your...bodyguard's mangling of the man wasn't all for nothing...they'll probably be too afraid to try again right away."

Lili looked over at Sergei, who still sat back in his chair, drinking his coffee. He shrugged lightly, raising his eyebrow. "It worked."

She smirked back. He had totally recovered from his ever-so-slight crisis of confidence. If you could even call It that. He had just gotten a bit confused, she figured, for a few moments...due to possibly realizing feelings he had thought were long buried.

Lars finished his coffee and cigarette, standing. "I have to head out. I'll let you know if I can come up with anything else. I think I can."

Lili smiled, walking over to the fridge to figure out something to eat. She sort of disliked cooking, wishing others to do it for her, but she wasn't quite sure what Sergei-who was seemingly happy eating anything including cold field rations-would do with food if given it to cook. "Thanks again."

She decided she liked Lars Alexandersson; he was fairly easygoing overall, despite having a slight military demeanor to him. She could tell by some of his actions and how he talked, but she could also tell he was never as deep into it as Sergei. She probably wouldn't have recognized it if she hadn't been around Sergei so much. He was kind, though; he seemed willing enough to go out of his way for someone he didn't know, as a favor for someone who seemed to just be a combat buddy. She almost thought Sergei might consider him something of a friend, though he would probably never admit it.

She thought he might have a side to him in combat, though; for Sergei to apparently be fairly impressed with him, she got the impression if angered or forced he could probably mangle opponents pretty efficiently. He didn't seem to enjoy it as much as Sergei, but he seemed like he would _not_ hold back.

Lars smiled, saluting. "I'll make you owe me afterward," he said, though jokingly. Sergei smirked, saluting back and going to pour more coffee.

The other man turned and left, leaving the two alone. Lili folded her arms, deciding that she would just call for a limo and go out to an expensive hotel breakfast this morning instead.

Sergei saw her look, walked over to the table, picked up her phone, and handed it to her. She smiled up at him.

 _He actually knows me better than I think he does._

–

Lili enjoyed her time out that morning. She felt much, much better after returning, and decided to sit at the desk to do a bit of reading.

She had noticed the sidearm she had been training with on the desk. She went over to check it out; carefully making sure it was unloaded and the safety was on, just as Sergei taught her to. She looked it over after that, holding it out toward the wall; even double checking that there would be no one standing behind it...thought she was in the lower level and that would be quite impossible. She knew what they could do, and she was just being overly careful, she supposed.

Sergei walked in, having had to deal in some reports; he would have to go back to base for three or so days this month, but that usually happened. He noticed Lili holding it and practicing aiming at the wall with the unloaded gun. He walked over to the desk, lighting a cigarette and absently scratching at one of the scars on his shoulder; the gunshot wound, in fact. It would itch every so often as old scars could.

She looked over at him. "I wouldn't mind practicing again sometime soon."

He nodded. "We can." He took a puff. "How do you feel with it?"

"Okay. Better. I think I could actually carry one around." After the incident, she somehow thought she'd feel better.

He walked over to her, the cigarette in his mouth. He touched her under the chin once with a finger. "Could you pull the trigger with the intent to kill?"

Lili paused. _Yes? No? I...don't know. If it meant my life? Maybe? Or yours..._

That question confused her enough for the moment that she sat down, placing the gun carefully on the desk the way he taught her. She touched it. "I don't know." She thought for a few moments. "I would still like to practice, though."

He nodded. "It's not my decision. You can carry it anytime you want. Whatever gun you want." He crouched in front of her, taking the cigarette out. "But if you pull it out and hesitate, it could be more dangerous than if you opted for a faster response." For a split second his usually stoic face-even around her-looked slightly sad. It wasn't even a change of expression as much as it was the look in his eyes, but she saw it.

She understood what he meant. If danger struck, she was actually very good at adapting; she had improved over her time of training, and with Sergei's little bits that he taught her as well. But if she were to pull the gun in self defense, and then hesitate instead of taking a faster option...it could end badly. She didn't want that.

"I'll think about it. Practice more. See where things take me. Or maybe I could carry it but not pull it. Maybe I'll get better so I won't have to ever pull it out." She smiled.

Sergei nodded, smirking at that. He did trust she would make the decision that was right for her.

She checked it out some more, putting it away and standing. "I'm bored. Let's leave soon." She got a bit of the demanding tone that she would get now and then. Which he actually grew to like.

He nodded. He wouldn't mind spending a bit of time there himself. He hadn't had to actually use one in awhile and he did enjoy them as a hobby, after all. He started to prepare everything while Lili got dressed.

Little did she know, but he was figuring a way to get his superiors to let him work more freelance-he knew they certainly appreciated the resources they got from Lili's father, after all.

–

The range had been fairly fun. Sergei had unloaded quite a few rounds, and Lili was getting quite adept at the Gsh-18, and even tried a heavier caliber weapon, though she was a bit shaky there. She was a bit afraid of the really big stuff she saw Sergei firing off as if they were .22's.

Lili was on the couch, after her shower; she was wearing her usual tank top and underwear. Sergei had already gotten his and was sitting on the floor leaning against the couch, having just finished a cigarette. He looked over at Lili who was doing something with her phone; possibly sending a message to some friends letting them know she'd be back in Berlin fairly soon.

Lili jumped when she felt his lips suddenly press against her thigh and his hands pulling her underwear off. She gasped when she felt his tongue immediately begin to tease her right between the legs. Dropping her phone-forgetting what she was doing anyway, she leaned back from this little surprise, moaning a bit louder than normal due to the suddenness of it. One of her hands absently found his hair as she began to rub it, his tongue lapping quickly at her, making her wetter by the second.

This did not take long; Sergei didn't seem to be wanting to tease her too much-he was looking to get her off. Sucking at her clit as he swirled his tongue around it-he knew how she liked that-she began to thrust her hips forward as he sped up his actions for the next minutes, not relenting until she moaned loudly in release. She arched her back and rubbed the back of his head until he was finished licking her. After he was sure she was finished, he kissed her center and then her thigh before pulling back, pausing to lick his lips and wipe his mouth off a bit before nuzzling her stomach a few moments. He didn't know what had come over him, but he had just suddenly wanted to pleasure her with one of his favorite actions.

When he smirked up at her and started to stand up, she gently motioned him to stay.

He repositioned on the couch, lying there with his head on her waist and an arm over her. Lili sighed, shifting a bit from the feeling of his sudden pleasure. She stroked his hair, looking down at him as he lay next to her.

 _It could end at any time, but I don't care. That time doesn't exist until it happens._

 _Sergei-your secrets are safe with me._

* * *

Hah, surprise lemon. Decided to spring it in there. I think people know enough at this point that I don't need to warn them. Surprise lemons are nice though. It gives you an impression that Sergei pretty much probably comes the closest as he's capable of legit loving another person with Lili...who would never spill his secret to anyone.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Some nasty violence in this chapter. Just a heads up!

* * *

It was in the afternoon two days later-four days before they would be returning to Berlin-that Lars came, knocking at the door rather quickly.

Sergei got up quickly to answer, letting him in. Lars kicked the ice from his boots; it had snowed quite nicely that morning, and took his leather jacket off, shaking it out. He rolled up the sleeves on his heavy army green style shirt and nodded to both of them.

"I found a man who is connected to the mole, and I may have an idea on who that is as well, but I'd rather we get the information from the other one first."

Lili blinked. "How..."

Lars smiled, knocking a cigarette out of his pack and offering one to Sergei, who took it. "I have my ways," he replied, lighting it. "But I can spill it. One of the lower-level security guards-who tends to be a little grumpy with how he's been treated-let me know of a meeting between the two men. I did a little snooping and found out that he indeed has ties to a man in Berlin."

Sergei nodded. "Who is he?"

Lars looked at him, taking a drag. "That's your job to find out. I'm pretty sure you're good at getting men to talk."

Sergei smirked; it had a bit of an evil tone to it. Lili looked between them. "So can you set up a meeting?"

"That you'll have to do. Make up something about the company. That way he'll know who you are. If I were you I'd keep it undercover-since then after he leaves, you can tail him to where he's staying and then-well, that's up to you." He paused. "I can come with you to make it smooth in terms of setting things up."

Lili was always very clever and resourceful, though she never thought she would have to dabble in corporate intrigue to try to find a mole in the company. However, if she didn't...things could get worse. Who knows who else he had 'infected', so to speak.

"I guess we'll have to be careful."

"Indeed. Keep in mind this man knows the mole, so he will know who you are. But if you're quiet and discreet, you can be in and out fairly quickly. I would set this up fairly early on in the evening, myself-it would make sure people are still there."

She nodded. "Okay...so..." she thought for a moment. She was _so_ new to this. "We go in. Just ask him about some sort of business with Rochefort Enterprises. Be quick. Leave and follow him?"

"In theory, yes. Let's hope it plays out that way."

Lili nervously looked at the table. She really didn't want to mess up, since it was sort of the company-and maybe her life-sort of on the line. But she didn't want to run anymore, and she did not want to let this mole possibly do worse than he has.

"Let's leave tonight, then."

Sergei looked at her and smiled. "I'll take care of the questioning after."

 _I'm pretty sure by the time you're done he'll have told you about the time he pushed someone into the mud in second grade._

–

It seemed too easy. This, of course, worried Lili.

It was simple; Lars gave her the contact information, and Lili set up the meeting, simply asking about meeting up. They dressed and got ready, heading to the place of business delegated by the man they were meeting with; he went by the name of Mr. Harding; he appeared British due to his accent, but he could have been from anywhere, they figured.

Lili had no idea if that was even his name or not, but she didn't particularly care, since he likely was not going to live out the night if he tried anything funny.

For the meeting, she was dressed in a fairly casual outfit; she wanted the meeting to feel relaxed. He had eyed Sergei nervously, she recalled, but said nothing.

The meeting went on...though for longer than Lili would have liked. It was set for four-o'-clock PM, and she had expected to be done by five...but it was six-thirty and he was still discussing things; he had to deal with a few things in the middle and apologized. Since the office building was not emptied yet, Sergei thought it was in their best interests not to act; besides, they still had to tail the man to where he was staying, as they had to look through his things eventually.

They finally got done, and were heading downstairs around seven. Mr. Harding had left first, with the two tailing soon after; far enough that they did not look suspicious. They met up with Lars halfway down, who had basically been posing as a common guard; how they didn't notice him was beyond her but she didn't bother asking questions. He was wearing an outfit much like the rest; cargos, a flak vest, heavy combat boots and a jacket.

He and Sergei truly looked like military buddies like this, Lili thought, as Sergei was wearing something similar, albeit his trousers were dark gray camouflage instead and his jacket black. It made her grin.

They had to get downstairs and to the limo fairly quickly, as they had to tail the man.

As they walked down to the last floor-seemingly no cover being blown-five men wearing medium levels of body armor appeared by the door. They did not have helmets on, but they did have sidearms...and they did not look like the building's guards. No other people were on the bottom floor at this time.

 _He was in on it from the start_ _,_ Lili thought. _He knew who I was, but I guess he decided to take matters into his own hands._

While she was pretty sure the three of them could take them on-though she was a bit worried about the guns, as they looked like they were packing heavy caliber handguns-even if they did they would likely run out of time.

Sergei cracked his neck, seemingly ready to smash their heads in. Indeed, he appeared to be almost looking forward to it. Before he could move, Lili noticed Lars dash forward with an almost inhuman speed, ending up behind one of the men. He grabbed him by the hair, bent him over backward at the waist...and then yanked his hand with such a fury the sickening _crack_ could be heard from where they were. Blood poured freely from his mouth and nose as he dropped the man, his neck completely snapped in two. He looked up at the two of them after; the other men too shocked and confused by the split-second attack that they hadn't even taken their guns out of the holsters.

"I'll handle them. You go."

"Lars?" Lili asked.

"I owe them one, anyway. Get to the limo."

Lili's hair stood on end as she saw energy crackle around him. She looked up at Sergei as the two made their way for the door.

She looked at Lars again as he jumped, wheeling his right leg around in a ferocious overhead kick to one; as the man had finally started to move forward he practically ran right into his heavy boot as it connected right to his face. His momentum, coupled with Lars' strength, caused a sickening sound to echo that Lili was quite familiar with. His neck snapped from the blow, and his face was pretty well smashed in on top of it.

 _There's the side to him. He seems to enjoy it less than Sergei, but he is not afraid to go all out._

Another was hit with a charged double-fist to the chest; the guard's ribs audibly cracking and blood spewing from his mouth; no doubt his lungs were punctured, but Lars simply followed up by smashing one hand up against his chin, followed by another in quick succession; snapping his spine and killing him, but not before smashing his jaw rather nastily as well.

At this point, one man managed to dislodge his firearm; but Lars went low, sweeping him down and before he could recover smashed his boot-heel down onto the base of his skull, killing him instantly with a quick _crunch_. Blood oozed out onto the floor, pooling around his head.

He folded his arms, turning to look at the last guard.

 _He's not as...grotesquely brutal as Sergei, as he doesn't look like he butchered anyone, but he certainly is not to be pissed off in any way. I can see why Sergei may actually consider him a fighting buddy._

 _Good god, the carnage that would be left after that one._

In the time it took for them to reach the door, four men were dead and a fifth was backing away very slowly from the slightly blood-spattered man who happened to be coursing lightning here and there on his body, causing the lights to occasionally flicker.

They stole out through the door as they saw Lars kneed the man in the stomach, grabbing him by the neck with one hand and lifting him up as if he were a ragdoll.

They didn't hear the echoing _crack_ that followed as the door closed right before he finished him.

They indeed got there in time; getting into the limo, they settled back. They let the driver know to get them-quickly-to the hotel Lars had mentioned.

Lili caught her breath, hoping he'd be okay. Sergei looked at her glancing out the window and smirked.

"He's fine."

She smiled. "He's not as bloody as you are."

Sergei gave her one of his more evil smirks. She chuckled. "So what will you do at the hotel?"

"Go question him."

Some moments later, they reached the hotel; it was a rather quick trip.

"Stay in the lobby," he said.

She frowned-but understood. "I'll wait. Call me when you get...through with him."

Sergei nodded, going toward the elevator.

Lili paced in the lobby. She debated going to the bar, but realized she wouldn't be able to probably keep still. She knew Sergei was going to be okay...but she was still nervous. This was her family involved, and they had to find out who the mole was in the company; at this point, he probably knew they were onto him.

She decided to sit down with a magazine-she found one in English-and read. She felt that maybe, just in case, it was a good idea to look fairly innocuous.

Roughly an hour passed before Sergei came down the elevator. Judging by his slightly damp hair at the front, he had washed his face and hands a bit. Looking him carefully up and down, she noticed a tiny bit of blood under his fingernails, on his collar, and on the fabric of his gray trousers that tucked into his boots. Likewise, there was a tiny bit on those as well, though you would have to look for it very closely. It was clear he 'cleaned up' a bit from something. She wondered what the room looked like.

 _Did he just torture a guy for my benefit? Is...um.._ _._ She shook her head and looked up.

"So..."

"I have his name. Let's go."

She nodded, the two heading out to the limo.

The ride back was silent; they did not want to discuss anything around others. Upon getting back to the flat where they were staying, Sergei removed his jacket. She saw more blood spatter on his shirt. She cringed a little. She had seen him beat men to death, and brutally, but something disturbed her right now.

"Sergei...did you torture a guy for..."

He looked at her. "He was one of the people who helped set up the man who shot you...and who had been responsible for something with your father as well."

Her expression went from slightly disturbed...to rather neutral at those words. _That changes things._

She was a bit disturbed again, though-on how quickly her mind changed. She shook it off. _My family is my family. He would have tried to kill us. It was a necessary evil, if one could even call it that_ _._

"So he talked. I guess he's...not alive."

He snorted. That told her everything. She figured that he called in some favors afterward.

"He talked. The man's name-who was pretending to work for your company-is actually Sullivan Davis-from the UK-and he's been with the Zaibatsu for ten years."

Lili wondered just _what_ Sergei did to get that sort of specific info, but she decided not to ask. "Is he here?"

"He's in Berlin. Probably planning his next move."

"Well-we should get back!" She wanted to get this over with. He had gone too far.

"Agreed." At that moment, there was a knock. Lili jumped. Sergei turned toward her. "It's just Lars."

He walked to the door, letting the other man in. Lars snorted. " _Just_ Lars?"

Sergei did not dignify that with a response, but turned around to get the ashtray out. "Are you coming with us?" he asked, pointedly.

Lars nodded. "I can help find a few others that might be hiding."

"I thought so."

Lili blinked. "You're going to come along?"

Lars looked at her and smiled. "We hadn't fought together in awhile, besides."

"In...awhile?" Lili was thoroughly confused now.

"I'm sad he never mentioned it."

Sergei just snorted, offering him a smoke and taking out a bottle of vodka along with glasses. He took out some wine for Lili. Lili looked at everything, realized what was transpiring, and laughed.

 _Sergei...really did have a battle buddy? Oh my god._

"Actually, I think I can use a shot."

Sergei smirked, pouring out three. Lars grabbed it, lighting his smoke. "During the time I was breaking out from the Zaibatsu, Sergei was investigating in the same area. We had met on a couple of occasions. One of them we had to deal with a rather large amount of soldiers."

Sergei sipped his drink, silent.

"Your...bodyguard there is a little excessive..."

Lili had to laugh at that. The laugh had a slight dark tone.

"...But we fought through them, and then a couple more times. We kept in touch now and again."

Sergei silently nodded. "I trusted him," was all he said.

Lili simply shook her head, not quite believing this. She would have thought it was almost cute if the scenes afterward hadn't likely looked like someone took a blender to the room.

"Anyway," Lars drank off his vodka. "I'll follow you there, as to not set off any suspicions. I'll tell you anything I find out when I get there."

Lili smiled. "Thanks again. I feel...hopeful for once finally that we'll end this."

Sergei nodded. He stood as Lars finished his cigarette. Lars held out his hand...and to Lili's surprise he took it, shaking it firmly.

Lars smirked, patting her shoulder. "It'll be fine. He'll make sure of it." He nodded toward him, before he turned and left.

Lili looked over at Sergei afterward, folding her arms. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't think it was important."

She snorted. "I won't say anything."

He smirked at her as he stood, running the back of his hand down her face. "We should get going soon. Take care of the flight."

"Right," she said. Before she could turn to leave, Sergei bent over to meet her in a kiss; a rather deep one. Long enough to get Lili squirming a bit. She smiled as he walked off to get his things together. She knew he'd probably have to go away for a few days to a week after returning to Monaco, but she just wanted to tie this off and take advantage of the rest of the time in the best way she knew how.

 _Let's end this. Hopefully this will buy my father some piece of mind for a few months, at least._

She turned back to the stairs as Sergei climbed them, his heavy footsteps muffled by the carpet. She smiled.

 _Thank you, Sergei_ _._

–

So yeah, again, they're my BROTP, so they are, for me, 'military buddies.' Kinda. The closest thing to one Sergei would ever have probably. (And yes-I feel Lars really *can* destroy soldiers as fast as Sergei. Lars can pick a man up like a doll and snap his neck with one hand; I try to keep, as you know, to a certain sort of 'Tekken Realism'-in that I try to keep the characters to roughly how I see them in game and what their attributes might lend them to-and Lars is a powerful, powerful man.) Anyway, this was fun. I think it showed other sides to characters, and how Sergei continues to surprise Lili even now. Just a little, anyway. Some dark stuff in this one too, which is good for character exploration at times I think.


End file.
